Prof Gerald S Buller was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1965. He graduated with BSc (Hons) Natural Philosophy from the University of Glasgow in 1986 and PhD in Physics from Heriot–Watt University in 1989. In 1990, Prof Buller became Lecturer in Physics at Heriot–Watt University, was promoted to Reader in 2000 and made a Professor in 2006.